ALL ABOUT GRACE

ALL ABOUT GRACE

Santa Clara University Student, Bioengineering  

Loves to Run: DI Cross-Country and Track

 

 

How did you start running?

I was never an athlete until I started running in the eighth grade!  My mom started paying me $6 an hour to go with her to the gym.  My mile time in PE dropped from 9:00 to 6:37 and I joined the track team.  I love being on a team!

 

What is your favorite running memory?

When I broke eleven minutes in 2 miles!

I passed my rival by 1 minute 40 seconds, had a huge PR, and qualified for nationals.

My senior year of high school, the Footlocker Nationals was so much fun!  The 40 fastest girls in the nation were running, I feel like they treated us like celebrities.  My uniform did not fit, and they had a sewing machine there to fit me.  We stayed at a hotel in San Diego, I made a lot of friends.  Afterwards, we went to the spa sauna, pools and beach.

 

What is your 5k personal record?

5k: 18:08

 

Do you have a pre-race ritual?

I tell everyone how excited I am to run! 

 

What are your favorite workouts?

Mile repeats!

I love swimming, I have been swimming 6 days a week since April. 

 

Where are your favorite places to run?

Beaches and anywhere tropical!

I loved running through tropical rainforests in Malaysia and Singapore. 

In high school, we went on a cross-country trip to Hawaii.

 

What type of sneakers do you wear?

Hoka’s

 

Do you have a motto?

Think happy thoughts.

 

How have you overcome running injuries?

Acupuncture helped my shin splints.

Sometimes, I use heat instead of ice.  Soaking my feet in warm water feels nice.  Compression socks help.

I love swimming, too!

 

What do you like to do outside of running?

Every day, I draw for twenty minutes, it is a creative outlet for me.  I love drawing.

I love making food-art!

 

What are your favorite foods?

Dragon fruit!

I always eat an apple a day to keep the doctor away!

 

Do you have advice for other runners?

Enjoy the process.

If you get injured that is okay, because you have everything else to do in the world. Enjoy life, be happy, and nice to people.

Pain means you are accomplishing the most you can.

Life has ups and downs. You need to experience an up, life owes you an up.  Everything happens for a reason, you just have to find it.

 
 
 

Photography, courtesy of Grace Ling.

 

 

 

 

That Pretty Runner